An update on books

Books I've finished from lists:
A Passage to India - by E.M. Forster-This story about clashes of the English and Indian culture shows what can happen when people adopt stereotypes. Lives are ruined and views challenged over the incident in the cave.

Under the Skin - By Michel Faber. - This book left me very confused. It starts in the middle of the action and never really explains what is going on during this sci-fi book about picking up hitchhikers. The realization that the main character reaches at the end is interesting but also not quite clear.

And for Books

I am trying to read at least one book from the 1001 books to read before you die and the group on but sometimes it is hard to get into them. for example the books for march and april I started but I could not finish.

But I have discovered a new tool that may help me. The county public library has playalongs which are mp3 players that are individualy loaded with an mp3 player. This works in my favor because my mp3 player is not compatible with most downloadable audiobooks. And since my new comute is about 25-30 minutes each way, I can listen to about an hour of a book each day. and my car is equiped with an auxilary input so it just hook it in and press play. Right now I am listening to the Scarlet Letter.

but I am also reading David Levitt's The Language of the Lost Cranes beucase I need to have something to read as i go to bed. and I really enjoy it.

Its been a while

so I know it has been awhile. I recently moved and started anew job and as result I have pushed certain things to to be back burner. But I am trying to be my life back into balance right now and part of that is getting back to reading, writing and watching movies.

Because I do not have cable in my apartment (but I do have an antenna so I get the main 4 ABC, NBC,CBS, and FOX) I have been watching all sorts of movies from the library. SO I am going to list all the moves that I have watched but I am not going to write a lot about all of them.

Groundhog Day - I understand that Bill Murray needed to learn to not to be such a jerk and repeating the day over and over again eventually forced him to do that but
Dog Day Afternoon - Thumbs up
Do the Right Thing - it wasn't horrible but I just did not like the ending. mookie had been bridging the gap so well but then all of a sudden he took sides and the neighborhood literally went up in flames.
Network - "I'm Mad as Hell and I'm not Gonna Take it Anymore" Need I say anything else?
Ducksoup - thumbs middle
Blazing Saddles - Mel Brooks humor. In the right mood, it can fix everything.
Natural Born Killers - it reminded me of bonnie and clyde
Casino - I can definately see teh resemblence between casino and goodfellas and I liked both.
The Goonies - a classic kids film that everyone should see sometime in their life
Blood Diamond - it makes me cry at the end and it is nice to see the change in heart.
District 9 - Not what I was expecting but I really like it.
Gangs of New York - I really like this. it was a different prespective on the city that never sleeps and its history. and since I my fathers side of the family is originally from cork ireland I wonder what they encountered when they first touched American soil.
Knocked up - definately had some funny parts and I am glad that he shapes up in teh end and everyone is happy.
Midnight Cowboy - I could not even finish it I found it so boring.
Yohimbo - I much prefered this Kurosawa film to the other films that I have watched by him
Solaris - I just could not get into it. I really tried but I just never really got the point behind it or the story.
Out of Sight - I really enjoyed this film staring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez. It really kept surprising me

And Finally Avatar. I just watched it this afternoon and I loved it. the creative time was amazing in the animals and plants that were designed for pandora. There were several times where tears came to my eyes and just many times did laughter come as well. I definate must see.

The Swarm

Sorry it has been so long since I have written but tons has happened in my personal life. New job, new apartment, moving. Another reason is that I was reading the Swarm which is on the list of 1001 books but is close to 900 pages long. I finished it last week. I really enjoyed it but that may have been the science geek in me talking. The story is kind of an apocalypse story but based in the oceans, whales attacking, toxic lobsters and crabs. It is rather long and extensive and tones of facts are contained. Previously I was reading the Life of Pi. I was really enjoying the story that combined religion and a sort of Hemingway story. but then I started reading The Swarm so that I could discuss it on the discussion board of the group "1001 to read before you die" group on GoodReads.com Now I am stuck between books not sure what to start.

In terms of movies I haven't watched too many. I did see the Princess and the Frog. It was cute. I guess that Disney had finally gone back to the muscials and succeeded. I also just watched Star Trek by J.J. Abrams. Another great movie that I am glad to watch. I'm not sure how often I can continue to write because I am moving and since I am working on my budget it may be a while before I write again.

July's People/Animal Farm

July's People by Nadine Gordimer is the story of a South African family that escapes Johannesburg during apartide by traveling to the village of thier servant July. I had a hard time getting through this novel. I think the combination of a lack of character and historical background at the beginning and the writing style overall realy just turned me off from the very start. When I finally began to understand which characters were which and how they were related to each other, these positions began shifting due to the situation that was forced upon them. and the constant temporal shifts without any comment also led to my confusion. Overall I thought it was an interesting book but not one of my favorites.

Once I finished it I was looking for a book to read and found Animal Farm on my sisters bookshelf. It was a quick read but I really enjoyed it. It is surprising how quickly a society can change and forget their ideals.

Currently Reading: Between books, I haven't decided what to read next
Currently Watching: CSI: Miami
Lists to be completed: 1408

Change of plans

So instead of blogging every single episode that I watch, I decided to limit my bloggingto movies and books. There are just too many episodes to blog every single time. But then anything major I will still announce. For example, right now I have decided to limit the shows that I am trying to follow right now. With my internet acting up and my work schedule being crazy, I am falling behind on certain shows and decided it might just be easier to leave them behind right now.

Update on the 1001 books group. I read the January book - July's People by Nadine Gordimer. I was not a big fan. Part was simply the style of the writing. And I just could not get into the subject material. The story is about a white family trying to escape apartide and their adjustment to living in the wild with their previous servant. And I really do not like the ending.

Currently reading: Animal Farm
Currently watching: Castle - The Third Man
Lists to complete 1406

Updated Lists

So the Lists of Bests website has finally been fixed allowing it to update. So I just spend time updating my lists and although that means that I can check off more items, it also means that some lists that were completed when I hadn't been able to update. But I have been slowly catching up on episodes from both this week and next. Unfortunately I am going to get behind next week because i am closing at work every night which means I am going to miss prime time every night. hopefully I will catch up before than so I can at least stay afloat. And I am almost done with Hamlet now.

Oh and I have found a great new site/group. Good reads allows you to take a never ending trivia quiz about books but it also has a group based on the 1001 books to read before you die and every month they recommend a novel from the list. I have decided to join in hopes that it will help me complete this list.

Currently reading: Hamlet
Currently watching: CSI - Long Ball
Lists to be completed: 1403

struggling

So the struggle to stay on top of things is continuing, the internet is spotty again so it is hard for me to watch the shows that conflict with the shows that with the ones that I actually watch on tv. And there is a problem with listsofbests so I can't update lists. For example, I have yet to add last weeks episode to the list of Fringe episodes so I can't mark it as complete.

Human target - The premiere event was interesting. only downside was they had already aired the big finalie during the commercials so you kinda knew part of what would happen.

Castle - during last nights episodes, in the search for a professional killer, Beckett was faced with the man who killed her mother. and although she gets the satisfaction of shotting the man, she is left to ponder who was it that hired someone to kill her mother and why.

Currently watching: the mentalist
Currently Reading: Hamlet
Lists to be completed (no completely accurate for the above listed reason): 1399

Catching Up.

So now that my internet is back up and working, I am working on catching up on the shows that I missed last week and this week. That is one problem with following so many shows, many of them overlap so I have to watch certain shows online every week. So here is my opinions on some of the shows I have been watching:

NCIS: I loved when went all over the top geeky when he realized that the murder involved a jet pack.

Project Runway: So the new season started last night and there are some pretty interesting designers. Now the one that I just really did not get was Ping. It seems like the fabric was just draped around the body and there was no real structure to the garment.

Bones: This week it was all about UFOs. And surprisingly Hodgens was not going on about his complete conspiracy issue.

Fringe: A town that was submitted to mutations must remain inside the city limits if they are ever to appear normal. The worst part is that I feel sorry for the young more that you know so desperately wants out of that town.

Currently watching: NCIS: Los Angeles
Currently Reading: A Separate Peace
Lists to Complete: 1401

Fringe and Castle

Attention, Spoiler Alert

So I don't know if it was just me, but didn't Olivia kill Charlie already. I was watching the newest episode of Fringe and was surprised to see Charlie show up. Previously in the show the real charlie was killed when the imposter took over during the first episode of the season when Olivia returned from the other dimension. And in a later episode Olivia realized that there was an imposter and she shot him. So I don't know what was going on. The only thing that I could think of was that this episode was aired out of order. Also this episode reminded me of the first season because it did not involve any of Olivia's struggle to remember what happened in the other dimension.

Castle was another interesting episode but it did not seem to have as much of the comedy that I love so much.

latest episodes: Fringe, Castle
Currently Reading: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Lists to complete: 1401

Falling Behind.

So I am afraid that I am going to get behind on episodes and the seasons haven't even really started back yet. There are 8 people living in my house and fighting over the tv so I often do not get the chance to watch what I like. So I watch episodes on my computer. But my internet has been acting up lately and I have not been able to catch up at all for last week. And this week is the real return with many networks returning to regular scheduling plus the beginning of the winter seasons. Who knows if I will ever get caught up.

Currently reading: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Lists to be completed: 1402

A Separate Peace

So I have completed all of the books related to Harry Potter and I have started a new book. It is A Separate Peace by John Knowles. I am only about 40 pages into it but i can see why some people have compared it to the work of J.D.Salinger but so far I much prefer Knowles. I know many people who adore Holden Cauflield but I always found him to be conceited. That is not the case with Gene but right now I am not sure if his friendship with Phineas will hurt him in the long run.

Currently Reading: A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Lists to be completed: 1401

Harry Potter

So I have finished reading the seven main books of the Harry Potter Series. Ih ave read them all before but this gives me the chance to explain one more thing aobut the lists and how I see them. When I started doing the lists, I decided that I would not count anything that I had seen or read prior to starting to reading the lists. Seeing as how I was only 21 there is not a ton of things that I would be able to count and I figured I would reread them or rewatch them. so I started over. and now I have finished this. well not completely. I am currently reading the three mini stories that were created as part of the Harry Potter Phenomenon. I just completely the Fantastic Beasts book and found it dull. The majority of the creatures featured had already been mentioned during the series and did not even provide much more information. I will read them to complete the lists but I am not sure if I will enjoy them.

Now just to figure out what to read once I finish them.

Just watched: Heroes - Upon this Rock
Currently reading: Quidditch through the ages
Lists to be completed:1401

Up, The Forgotten

So I realized that there were a few things that I did not explain last time. The lists that I am trying to complete fluctuate greatly. For example, there are several lists of TV episodes that currently are listed as complete because all of the episodes that were provided online were completed before the holidays. But now that the shows are returning, new information is available and they are no longer complete.

Also, there are several times were new lists are created by other users of the site and I have found them interesting and added them to my lists of complete. Those are the two most common reasons the number of lists may increase. Additionally, the number of lists may decrease quickly too. For example, I am reading the final book in the Harry Potter series. There are probably 3 versions of this series lists that simply contains those seven novels so once I finish Book seven those 3 lists will finish at once, there are two more that also include the short stories “Quiddittch through the Ages” and “Fantastic Beasts…” and one list even includes “The Tales of Beedle the Bard.” So that is enough background and explanation. If you want more on how it all works visit www.ListsofBests.com

So last night we watched Up, the newest Pixar movie. I personally think it is very cute. Kevin, the crazy bird is cute and hilarious and her babies are adorable. Dug, the dog, is also a laugh although a little dimwitted, he really helps lighten the mood of the film. Although the movie was cute, it does not hold the attraction of many of the other Pixar movies. I mean you could not help falling in love with Wall-E and E.V.E. or wanting Andy to play with Buzz and Woody and Jessie one more time. But this one did not seem to grab me as must as the others did. It took a while to like Mr. Frederickson, the main character who wants to take his house to paradise falls. I enjoyed it and may watch it again but I do not think it was garner as much attention as the previous Pixar films.

So The forgotten finally returned last night after about a month and a half hiatus for the holidays and the airing of ABC’s other big new show this fall V. and How I have missed the characters. I liked this episodes because you being to see a little more about Walter’s life. You have seen hints into all of the other members of the group but until now all you really knew was that he worked for the phone company and did not tell you anything about his family. But this whole episode was about family and perceptions. A Jane and John Doe were found outside a motel and the group begins trying to discover who they are and what happened to them. I am not going to say much more because I do not want to ruin it for anyone still out there who want to watch it.

It seems it was a very relationship filled night last night but I am off to do more reading before going to work tonight.

Latest episode: The Forgotten – Double Doe
Latest Movie: Up
Current Reading: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Lists to Complete: 1403

Starting off

So this is the beginning.

Well not really. I discovered Lists of Bests one day while just stumbling through the internet and ever since then I have been hooked. I have added over a thousand lists of books, movies, and TV episodes and I am always finding more.

But this is the beginning of my blog. I recently rediscovered the cathartic nature of writing and decided I can combine the two. Writing about the movies I've watched and the books I am reading.

I hope to write at least every time I finish a book or a movie but I may write more often and I may do a movie fest and write a single blog.

I figured I should explain all of this even though I am not sure anyone will be interested in what I have to say or my progress but this way if anyone happens to stumble upon my writing they will understand.

Last Movie watched: Julie and Julia.
Last Episode: Pilot of Chef Academy
Current book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Lists remaining to Complete: 1397

(If I remember I hope to keep this posting above updated with each post.)